Conflicting Feelings
by TheMonocerus
Summary: Nick goes to Bunnyburrow with Judy to help with the annual Carrot Days festival. What he doesn't expect is meeting someone else there, and he definitely doesn't expect them to tangle his emotions like they do. UPDATE - July 20, 2017: I'm not dead, I promise! There doesn't seem to be a big need for continuation, as only one person has contacted me about it. Maybe if others asked?
1. Chapter 1

Nick yawned and looked out the window. He was riding on the train with Judy on the 211 mile trip to Bunnyburrow. The Hopps' had invited him to come help set up and participate in the annual Carrot Days festival, and he accepted the invitation, mostly because Judy's explanation made it sound interesting and because it was nice to get out of the city once and awhile; something that he had found out on his first visit to Judy's hometown.

Also because Judy wouldn't stop pestering him about it until he agreed.

He looked away from the sprawling fields they were travelling through and down to the bunny sitting next to him. She was chatting with her parents over the phone, talking about when they'd arrive and who'd be coming to pick them up and whatnot. He smirked and gave her head a rub, making her stumble over her words and glance up at him in mild confusion, which got a snicker out of him.

The fox turned his attention back to the passing landscape, thinking about the next few days. He had heard about the Carrot Days festival since Judy had mentioned it a few times, but until she had invited him, he hadn't actually known what it was. It seemed pretty fun; carnival games, food, mazes, and the like; things that would be found at a standard county fair. The only things that he was worried about were the mammals that were going to be there.

The Hopps family had taken a little to warm up to Nick, but they were fine with him now, with this being his third stay at their house. He didn't know how the other families of small prey felt about him, though, probably because he'd never actually gone into the town of Bunnyburrow, he had only been to Judy's house. Because the festival was attended by many different families, the fox was slightly nervous about how they would react to him being there. He had discussed his issue with Judy, and she had assured him that he'd be welcome there. Still, he couldn't help but to feel a bit uneasy.

Nick wouldn't let that ruin his trip, though.

After around twenty minutes, the train arrived. Nick and Judy collected their luggage and disembarked, stepping onto the platform of the Bunnyburrow station.

"Come on, Nick, we should go sit down. My parents told me they'd be a few minutes late." Judy said, glancing up at him as she made her way some benches that were under the station building's roofed waiting area.

He nodded and followed, setting down his luggage next to the bench and sitting beside the bunny. The bench was a bit uncomfortable, but he didn't mind.

Nick looked around as he waited, smiling at the carrot-shaped support pillars and the general rounded, cozy design of the place. Used to shiny metal, shimmering glass, dirty concrete, and towering highrises, this was a nice change for him.

"Heya, Judes!"

Nick looked around at the voice, and saw Stu and Bonnie Hopps making their way over to them.

"Hi, Dad! Hi, Mom!" Judy exclaimed, beaming and jumping up from the bench and running over to hug her parents. Nick stood as well, smiling. Once they were done greeting their daughter, Stu and Bonnie turned their attentions to him.

"Hey, Nick!" Stu said happily, coming over and giving the fox a firm handshake.

"Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Hopps." Nick replied, smiling as well.

"Oh, you can just call us Bonnie and Stu, remember?" Judy's mother commented, giving the predator a warm smile as she came to stand next to her husband.

"Dad, could you help Nick with the luggage, please?" Judy then asked, "We should probably get going if we want to show him the grounds before it gets dark."

In a few minutes, with Nick, Judy, and their suitcases in the back of Stu's truck, they were off to the Hopps' house.

"What are 'the grounds', Carrots?" Nick asked, looking around a bit at the nice trees and crop patches.

"The festival grounds." Judy replied, "It's held in the same place every year."

Nick nodded in understanding.

"When are you going to show me the video of that talent show you were in?" he then asked, looking at her.

Her eyes went wide and an expression of shock crossed her face, being replaced with mild anger. "How'd you find out about that?"

Nick snickered at his partner's reaction. "Your dad mentioned it when we were getting the luggage. I have to say that I'm _very_ interested." he teased.

She grumbled and looked away, her ears slightly flattened.

"Little Judy in her tiny police uniform, looking like a dork while talking about how amazing Zootopia is. You really haven't changed much, have you?"

He earned a hard punch on the arm for that one.

They finally arrived at Judy's house, Nick helping Stu with the luggage while also trying to wade his way through a sea of hundreds of Judy's younger siblings, who were all excitedly crowding around him in greeting. He eventually made it to Judy's room and set the luggage down, then went back and joined her and Stu at the truck.

Stu drove them to the festival grounds, which were nearly centered between the town of Bunnyburrow and Judy's house. Upon arrival, he could see a few booth tents already set up along the trodden paths worn into the grass over the years that the festival had been held. The area was next to a two-lane road, nestled between a field of corn and what looked like either carrots or potatoes. There was a barn where presumably the talent show was held, along with a shed, probably for storage.

They got out and Judy and her dad led Nick around, pointing out what booths would be where, and where the hay maze and the bounce house would go.

As they were showing him where the Hopps family booth would be, someone called over to them from behind them.

"Hey, Judy!"

They turned around and Nick was surprised to see a fox setting up a booth across from them. He was slightly taller than Nick, with longer fur parted on his head and kind blue eyes, wearing a red plaid shirt and faded, partially rolled-up blue jeans.

"Oh, hey Gideon!" Judy exclaimed, smiling widely and going over to give him a friendly hug. Stu also greeted him with a handshake, grinning as well.

"Nick, this is Gideon. I told you about him, remember?" Judy said, looking at Nick. Nick was a bit confused at first, but then remembered. Judy had told him about the pie-maker that was her parents' business partner. She hadn't said anything about him being a fox, though, so he had assumed he was another bunny.

He smiled and shook paws with the other fox. "Nice to meet you. Carrots said that you make amazing pies."

"Heh, she did? Mighty nice of her." Gideon replied, a slight stutter in his voice, glancing at the bunny with a smile before looking back at Nick. "You're her partner, 's that right?" he asked, Nick nodding in confirmation. "Well, it's nice t' meet you, too, officer."

"Gideon has a booth across from us." Judy then informed Nick.

"Yep, I figured to set it up early; I don't wanna be caught up in th' rush." Gideon explained.

"We're setting ours up tomorrow, and we'll be helping around with the other stuff." Stu replied. "You're welcome to come help, if you'd like, Gid."

"Sure thing, Mr. Hopps. Early mornin'?"

"Yep, early morning."

While they were talking, Nick was looking at Gideon. For some reason, he was getting a strange feeling in his stomach, something that he'd felt before, but he couldn't pinpoint when or why. He decided to ignore it for now and think about it later.

Eventually, Stu, Judy, and Nick said goodbye to Gideon and started heading back to the truck, the sun starting to set.

"We're going to have a barbeque for dinner, Nick." Judy said happily as they sat in the truck bed on the way back to the house.

"I thought that prey don't eat meat?" Nick asked in confusion.

"You can barbeque vegetables, you know?"

"You can?"

"Yep! I think carrots are the best,-"

"Of course you do."

"-but roasted corn is really good, too. I think you'll like it!"

"Sounds good. As long as you don't make me try that cabbage and potato salad, I'll be fine." Nick said, smirking.

"Hey! Don't insult a family recipe! Potatoes with greens is actually really good." Judy said defensively.

"Oh, right. I'm assuming it was something _else_ that made me almost throw up?"

Judy punched him on the arm again.


	2. Chapter 2

Once they were back at Judy's, they helped set up the barbeque on a massive patch of grass behind the house. Nick had immensely underestimated the scale of the dinner, though. This was apparently a tradition; a huge barbeque was held before the family started helping with festival preparations, which meant that nearly the entire family was attending.

The fox stayed with Judy because he had a lot of trouble navigating the expansive structure of rooms and halls that was built underneath the main building. Most of the Hopps residence was underground, with only the main entrance being on the surface. Everything else, including the enormous kitchen and eating area, the huge laundry room, and the hundreds and hundreds of rooms for the bunnies themselves, had to be accessed via staircases and hallways leading from the entrance room. Judy told Nick that one of her brothers who was good at designing and art - he helped Gideon with making his business logo and the design that was his truck - was in the process of making a map of the house. Until it was finished, though, Nick didn't trust himself to successfully navigate the labyrinth on his own.

The two made constant trips from the kitchen to the grass area, then back down to the storage room to get plastic chairs and fold-out tables, then up to the grass area again. It took almost an hour and a half to get everything set up, and that was with the help of mostly all of the older siblings that weren't cooking and preparing food.

Once everything was ready, Nick realised why such a large space was needed. There were hundreds of chairs and nearly as many tables spread out on the grass. Four grills were roasting up the vegetables, and dozens of tables had utensils, plates, bowls, and napkins, while others had other food and beverages, including fresh fruit and veggies, baked beans, salad and toppings, sandwiches, and potatoes and greens, which Nick made sure to stay away from.

As the fox was getting fruit, he was surprised at the arrival of Gideon, pushing a cart with several pies on it across the grass. It seemed that he was pretty popular among the younger siblings, who all greeted him enthusiastically. Apparently his pies were a big hit.

He laid them out on an empty table, then went back to his truck for another cart, repeating the process two or three more times. Nick was amazed at how many pies the baker had made just for this dinner.

"He makes all of those by himself?" Nick asked Judy, who was putting toppings on her salad.

"Yep. He started making those a few days ago; he knew that twelve weren't going to be enough." she replied, glancing over at Gideon, who was setting the last of the two dozen pies on a table. Nick watched for a moment, impressed, then went back to filling his plate.

Once he was finished, he sat down at a table next to Judy. He started eating, sampling the roasted carrots first. He liked them, but not as much as the corn. He was finishing off a half of a sandwich that he had taken from Judy's plate when Gideon sat down across from them, his plate filled with mostly fruits and vegetables.

"Hi, Gideon!" Judy greeted him, Nick unable to do the same with a mouthful of food.

"Heya, Judy. Hi, Nick." Gideon replied, smiling at the two of them.

"Thanks for bringing the pies, they look delicious!"

"No problem! 'Fraid I'm gonna have to get more ingredients, though; I'm runnin' low." said Gideon before he started eating.

"Well, I think my dad's going to pay you for the catering, so that'll help, I'm sure."

The taller fox looked up and swallowed, a slight expression of confusion on his face.

"He is..?" he asked, glancing at Stu, who was eating with Bonnie and a few of the older siblings. "He don't have to do that..."

"Just think of it as payment for an order. Besides, it would make him feel better."

Nick was finally done eating the sandwich half, wiping his muzzle with a napkin before joining the conversation.

"How long does it take you to make those pies?" he asked, curious.

"Oh, not that long, a fair bit less than an hour each. I'm used to it, so I can make 'em faster now." the other fox replied, looking at Nick with a slightly proud smile.

There went that odd feeling in his stomach again. It was a bit stronger than it was the day previous, though, which concerned Nick. He decided to ignore it again.

"You're selling them at your booth, right?" he then asked.

Gideon nodded. "I gotta get up early t' help with settin' up, an' stay up late to bake, and I need ta bake a _lot_."

"We could help, if you want?" Judy offered.

"Thank ya, but I think I'm fine for now."

"How many pies do you have to make?" Nick asked.

"Around a hundred. Most I've ever made." Gideon replied, his ears flicking a bit.

" _One hundred?!_ " Nick exclaimed, surprised. "You're selling that many?"

The other fox shook his head. "Nah, I'm makin' some for the pie-eatin' contest, too."

"There's a pie-eating contest?" he asked, his ears perking up a little. He then got a mental image of bunnies scarfing down pies nearly half the size of their bodies and he couldn't help but let out a snicker.

Gideon chuckled and the feeling in Nick's stomach got a lot stronger for a few seconds, his tail flicking a bit.

"Yeah, it's quite funny t' watch. Some of 'em can put those pies away _fast_ , though." the taller fox said, grinning. "Personally, I think Judy should give it a go."

Gideon looked over at the bunny as Nick snickered again, an unamused look on Judy's face.

"You should enter this year, Carrots. You love food!" Nick then teased, smirking.

"Says the one who ate three large pizzas in a single sitting."

Gideon started laughing and it was Nick's turn to scowl.

"Carrots, you and I both know that I was extremely hungry and that was a really good restaurant."

"And what about the time when you polished off two bowls of pasta, a salad, and a shake _before_ that huge blueberry sundae?" she asked, smirking up at the shorter fox.

"... I have a right to remain silent, officer." Nick grumbled, his ears flattening as Gideon's hearty laugh got louder.

After around three hours, everyone started to help clean up, throwing away their plates and starting to bring in any leftover food. Judy made sure to save half of a blueberry pie since Nick was too full to try any. The two of them and Gideon helped bring in the chairs and tables, then assisted a little with washing the pots and pans and cooking utensils. Everyone was rather tired after everything had been cleaned up, so, after saying goodbye to Gideon, Nick and Judy went back to Judy's room to sleep.

Nick sighed contentedly as he cuddled up with his partner, nuzzling her softly.

"Mm... We're getting up early tomorrow." the bunny informed him sleepily. "Don't worry, my dad'll have coffee made by then.." she then added in response to Nick's unenthusiastic grunt.

"You're gonna have to wake me up." he mumbled.

"I will, you sleepy fox." she said, smiling up at him.

He smiled gently back, looking at her as she rested her head against his chest and closed her eyes. He then felt that strange feeling again, and his smile disappeared.

The fox was very confused. Why did he keep feeling this, and what was causing it? He tried to find something in common between the times he'd felt the odd sensation, but he couldn't make any connections. Eventually, he pushed it from his mind and fell asleep, resting his muzzle between Judy's ears.

The next morning, Judy woke him up around four. He stumbled through the process of getting ready, not used to getting up this early at all. After he had gotten showered and dressed, he trudged along after the bunny, following her to the kitchen, where coffee was waiting for him. The drink helped, and he was nearly fully awake by the time they were riding in Stu's truck bed to the festival grounds, Judy cuddled close to him because of how cold it was. They finally arrived and saw that Gideon's truck was already there. The baker was setting up his booth when the three of them approached, carrying supplies for their own booth.

"Hey, y'all." Gideon said, looking back at them with a smile.

"Hi, Gideon." Judy replied, smiling in return as Stu started sorting through the supplies. "Have a good sleep?"

"Yep. Did you two?" he asked.

"Yep!" the bunny responded as Nick nodded.

They started to put together the small tent, hammering stakes into the ground and putting the supporting poles together. Once that was done, Nick helped Stu set up the table while Judy hung up the 'Hopps Family Farm' sign. As it started to get later in the morning, more mammals started to arrive and begin setting up their booths or putting up decorations. Nick had never seen so many carrot-shaped things in one place before.

When he wasn't helping Judy and Stu, Nick found himself watching Gideon. For some reason, he couldn't help it. The taller fox was setting up his tent by himself, having a bit of trouble with the instructions. He didn't ask for help, though, seemingly determined to do it on his own. As Nick was gazing at Gideon, he didn't notice Judy watching him.

"Nick?"

"Yeah?" he responded, pulling his eyes from the fox and looking around at the bunny, who came over to his side.

"Are you doing okay?" she asked.

Nick was confused at first, but then noticed that his tail was lowered and his ears were a bit drooped.

"Yep. Anything I can help with?" he replied, quickly perking his ears and tail back up and changing the subject, realising that Judy must've seen him staring and noticed his abnormal behavior.

"..Yeah. Would you like to help set up in the barn?"

"Sure."

If Judy _had_ seen, she wasn't mentioning it.

They set off, walking down the path leading to the barn, which was situated near the entrance of the grounds.

"You still need to show me that video of the talent show, Carrots." Nick commented, smirking.

"No."

"Hm. Well, I'm sure one of your parents would love to show me, then."

"Why do you want to see it so bad?" the bunny asked, glancing at him.

"Why don't you want me to see it?" he asked in reply, glancing back.

"Because you'll make fun of me."

"Carrots, we both know that if _I_ had a video of _me_ in a talent show when I was nine, you'd want to see it and make fun of me for it, too."

Judy didn't argue with him on that.


	3. Chapter 3

It was around nine when Judy and Nick had finished setting up the barn. They had gotten the chairs out of the shed and put the decorations up around the walls. The stage was left undecorated for now, since the performers would be the ones bringing in the decorations and props for their acts.

When they returned to the booth, Gideon was putting up his sign, while Stu was trying to assemble a standard metal food cart.

"Hey, Dad. Need any help?" Judy asked as they approached, while Nick took the opportunity to watch Gideon a bit. He seemed to be having trouble finding a nail that he'd dropped in the grass.

"Uh.. I don't think so, Judes. You could help with the hay maze, though." Stu replied, looking up from the mess of parts laid out before him. Nick looked back at him. "I could help with that, Stu." he then commented. "I haven't helped with much so far."

Before Stu could reply, Gideon came over. "Well, my booth's ready fer action. All it needs is the pies." he said, looking proud of himself. "Anythin' I can help with over here?"

"Sure, Gid. You could help Nick set up the hay maze, If you'd like." Judy's father replied, pointing next to the barn, where a ton of hay bales were stacked. "Mr. Bleaton will tell you what to do." He then pointed to a sheep standing next to the bales and counting them, clipboard in hoof.

Nick nodded and set off, Gideon following him.

"I've never set a maze up before." The taller fox commented.

"I- I haven't either." Nick replied as he glanced back at the baker. He then wondered why he'd stuttered.

They approached the sheep, who was jotting something down with a pen.

"Hello, Mr. Bleaton. We'd like to help with the hay maze." Nick said after the wooly mammal noticed them.

"Well sure thing! Ya can start at the rightmost corner over there." Mr. Bleaton replied, pointing over to the far corner of a large square patch of dirt. "There's tape on the ground that'll show ya where ta put the hay. "

Nick nodded and thanked the sheep before going over to the stack of hay bales and picking one up, struggling a little with its weight. Gideon, on the other hand, seemed to have no trouble lifting his bale. Nick went to the corner and looked at the ground, dropping the bale down. Gideon put his bale down next to Nick's, lining it up along the line.

They continued to work, slowly putting the corner of the maze together. Nick found that the hay was a bit of a hassle since it kept clinging to his fur. When the first layer of the maze was finished, the easier work began, since all they had to do now was to add more layers.

"Nice t' finally be helpin' out with settin' up." Gideon commented as they both went to get another bale.

"You haven't helped out before?" Nick asked, glancing at the other fox.

"Nah, this is the first year I've been allowed."

Nick looked at him in confusion and almost tripped, carrying the bale back to the corner. "Why weren't you allowed to help before?" he then asked, setting the hay down and straightening it.

"Well, Mr. Hopps is sorta in charge of who gets ta help, and he didn't really trust me 'till recently." the baker explained, starting back to the hay stack to retrieve another bale.

"Oh. Because you're a fox, right?" Nick asked after sighing a little, remembering how it took a while for Judy's dad to warm up to him.

"Nah. Er, maybe a bit. But it's mostly 'cause, well.." Gideon stopped walking, looking at Nick. "I- I dunno if Judy's told ya, but we.. sorta had a fight when we were kids, an' I hurt her pretty bad. Since then, Mr. Hopps has been wary 'bout me.. an' I don't blame 'im."

He started walking again, Nick following him while trying to process this information.

"Wait... _You're_ the one who gave her those scars?" he then asked.

Judy had told the whole story of the incident to Nick, but she hadn't mentioned names, so Nick had been assuming it was some asshole of a fox who'd hurt her, not someone as kind and humble as Gideon.

"Yeah.. I- I don't think I'll ever forgive myself fer that." the other fox replied as he picked up a hay bale, his tail drooped close to the ground and a more serious expression on his face.

Nick watched him walk back, thinking. He really didn't want to dislike Gideon, but.. after knowing that he was the one who had given his partner claw marks, it was hard not to feel a bit of anger towards him.

Nick sighed and picked up a bale, bringing it back to the corner, now in a significantly grumpier mood than he was in a minute ago. He continued to build up the second layer wordlessly, even though he could see Gideon glancing at him from time to time, probably waiting for him to say something.

After about a half hour, they were building up the fourth layer, and silence still hung between them.

Nick had set down a bale and was about to walk back to the pile to get another when Gideon stopped him.

"Look, Nick.. I can tell that yer mad at me, an' I understand why, but Judy already forgave me. We're friends now." he said, looking at Nick, his ears slightly flattened.

The fox was silent for a bit. "... I'm not going to say that what you did wasn't stupid." he then grumbled, moving around Gideon and walking to the pile.

"I ain't sayin' that, either. It _was_ stupid. It was a stupid decision an' I regret makin' it." the baker said, hurrying to walk next to the other fox.

Nick was silent for a little while again, picking up a bale.

"She was just trying to stand up for her friends and you clawed her." he snapped, giving the other fox a short glare before starting to return to the corner of the maze. "Then you decided to rub it in her face."

Gideon followed after him, not bothering to pick up a hay bale this time. "I-I know that what I did was.. was small-minded. I'm not sayin' that me bein' friends with Judy now makes what I did right. I- I'm just askin' for forgiveness."

Nick set the bale down, then looked at Gideon. "Unfortunately, that's a bit hard for me to give you right now." he spat.

"Nick, please, I've _changed_."

"That _doesn't_ get rid of the fact that you gave my girlfriend _scars_!" Nick shouted.

"Judy an' Mr. Hopps know that I've changed. I've gotten help an' I've become a better mammal. How can I prove it to you?" the baker begged rather desperately, his ears flattened down fully.

Nick didn't respond, staring at the ground.

Gideon waited a bit before gently putting a paw on Nick's shoulder.

"Nick, I'm _sorry_. I've said it a hundred times before, an' I'll say it again, nonstop if I have to; I'm sorry. I- I was a mean, cold-hearted jerk, and I took my aggression out on her without thinkin'. I don't deserve Judy's friendship, an' I'm surprised she gave me a second chance, but she did."

"Please forgive me, Nick."

Nick stared at the ground for a bit longer, then sighed. He knew that Gideon was being sincere, and that he was hurt by his attitude. He wanted to like the baker, but he couldn't stop thinking of the incident with Judy. However, if _she_ forgave him and was willing to look past his actions, then maybe Nick should as well. In all honesty, he was making a bit of a scene out of this. Gideon was young at the time, and young mammals tend to sometimes make bad decisions. He knew that _he_ had definitely done a lot around that age that he ended up regretting. Nick could tell that the fox had changed his ways since then, and was making a goal of redeeming himself, and he knew that if he was in the baker's place, he'd want forgiveness as well.

"I... I'm sorry." Nick said softly, closing his eyes. "I was.. overreacting. I can see that you're not a jerk any more, I was just being a little protective of Judy because I can't stand her being hurt."

He opened his eyes and looked up at Gideon.

"I forgive you."

Gideon stared at the fox for a moment, then smiled gently, and before Nick knew it, he was being wrapped in a tight hug. He was a bit surprised, but he hugged back, a smile breaking out on his face as well.

Neither of them noticed Nick's tail curl loosely around one of Gideon's legs.

Eventually, they went back to finishing the corner of the maze. Nick was feeling very different from when he started a few hours ago. His heart was beating hard in his chest and he felt like his balance wasn't as good as it usually was. The most prominent thing, though, was that strange feeling, the one that had been popping up more and more frequently. It confused the fox beyond all end. Once again, he tried to find connections between the times he had felt it.

It wasn't essentially a new feeling, it was just different somehow than before. Normally, he would get a similar feeling when he was around Judy, watching her talk to other mammals and hearing her voice or feeling her body against his when she was cuddling with him. Now, though, he got a different version of the feeling seemingly randomly. However, when the fox thought about it, he found that he usually got the feeling when he was looking at Gideon working, or watching that bushy tail swishing, or seeing his kind smile, or looking into those blue eyes and hearing that slightly stuttering voice, or..."

"... _Shit._ "

"You alright?" the baker asked, looking over at the fox, who had dropped the hay bale he had been carrying.

"Y- Yeah, just.. stepped on a rock." Nick replied, hastily picking the bale back up, his mind reeling.

He now knew what that feeling was, and why he was getting it:

He had a crush on Gideon Grey.


End file.
